According to the lawsuit, the university believes R2 simply doesn't intend to pay up.

The AP story linked above states that the buyout clause requires Coach Rod to pay the $4 large (as in VERY large) to WVU over two years with one-third of the total due 30 days after his employment ends. Which means, since he resigned on December 19, he's got about three weeks to come up with a shitload of coin.

Another interesting tidbit is that the lawsuit claims that WVU officials were not aware of and did not consent to Rodriguez talking to Michigan about its head coaching vacancy.

Ok, I get WVU is pissed and thus wants to sue to get its $4M, but putting in that last part makes WVU look a tad like a bitter ex.

WVU: But you said you loved me! That I was your dream job!RICH RODRIGUEZ: You were, but...I've changed. It's not you. It's me.WVU: I did everything you ever wanted! I gave you the money for your assistants. And look at me - I just upgraded my athletic facilities for you!RR: I'm sorry.WVU (getting hysterical): We can work it out. Please. Just give me another chance. It can still work. I know it can! Please, Richard. Please.RR: Don't do this to yourself. We had seven good years together. But it was time.

WVU picks up the Big East Championship trophy off a nearby table.

WVU: Doesn't this mean anything to you?

Rodriguez just looks down.

WVU: Doesn't it?RR: I...I have to go.

WVU heaves the trophy at a nearby wall - CRASH! - smashing it to pieces.

WVU: Michigan will never love you the way I did! NEVER! DO YOU KNOW THAT! As soon as you have a three-loss season, she'll start looking around. For somebody else! And when you lose to Ohio State, that'll be it. She'll leave you! Then you'll know how I feel! YOU'LL KNOW!

Rodriguez turns to leave. But WVU won't stop...

WVU: Do you hear me, goddamnit! DO YOU?! And you were never any good in big games! Never! All those times I said how good you were, and gave you a contract extention - I WAS LYING! LYING! Because I knew your ego needed it. You lost to Pitt with the National Title on the line! PITT! Coached by Dave Wannstedt! DAVE FUCKING WANNSTEDT! HA! You call yourself a man?! You're a joke. A pathetic little--

119 comments:

RR: No, I'm through with everything here. I want Big 10 championships. I want to see if somewhere there isn't something left in life of winged helmets and really big, quiet stadiums. Do you know what I'm talking about?

WVU: No! I only know that I love you.

RR: That's your misfortune.

WVU: Oh, Rich! Rich! Rich, Rich! Rich... if you go, where shall I go, what shall I do?

On a more serious note, why not just pay it? The animosity is already so great, this just increases that. I imagine that the animosity that he has experienced has played in his decision to fight it as well. I still can't get that comment out of my head from the accountant though, if Michigan pays it for him, he has to pay taxes on that "gift", and that still is a hell of a lot of money!

You don't want to hear my divorce story. I don't really understand this type of behavior, why do you want someone who doesn't want you? See ya, and oh btw, I don't want your money either, I can make it on my own, tyvm. Yeah, I think that might have been not the brightest move ever, but hey, everything I have is mine and I worked hard for it....much better!

Did you guys read that the Governor of West Virginia has interviewed all of the coaching candidates? Do you appreciate that it could have been worse for us, having Granholm in on our coaching hire? (I like the woman, but I don't think that having her involved would have made the situation better)

WVU will call back at 2 am, when they are really shitfaced, and sound real sincere, apologetic about the way "things got out of hand earlier", that they understand now, but now they know what RR needs and can make him happy... only to discover that RR has someone in bed with him, then things are going to get nasty!

Isn't it curious that we tried to take the high road with Miles by contacting his university first and ended losing him and taking hell from the media for how we handled things, but when we steal a coach away from WVU, the media congratulates us and makes WVU look like a whining baby? Gotta love politics...

I am having more trouble rooting for MSU than the thought of rooting for OSU. I ran into a MSU fan over the break and he said that Michigan fans are soulless .....wtf? I know, the Big Ten thing and all.....I just got back to Ann Arbor, hopefully I can get the game. My boys had a fabulous football package on their dish service, I am going to miss that so much!

Yes, we're soulless because we don't let them win more often. F-ing crybabies.

Seriously, if they don't want to be referred to as "little brother" they should lose the woe is us attitude and the inferiority complex. I have absolutely no tolerance for that BS. Don't want to whine about us being arrogant? Then beat us. Like opposing players said about the Pats this season- they're not running up the score, that's their job. If they don't like it maybe they should do something about it. I have lots of family and friends who are state fans, and I love them dearly, but that crap just incenses me. I'm a nice guy until you call me arrogant, and then I'm gonna be an arrogant jerk just because you assume i am anyway. Jeebus.

Side note: I think I need to move back to St. Thomas. All these gray days are making me one angry individual. Seriously- is one sunny day too much to ask for? Please!!!! Just like a sliver of sunshine, and I'l never ask again. I'm about to start making deals with God like "Please sir, just one sunny day and I'll be the first person to church every sunday from here 'till..." But he knows better. Damn.

93, glad I could be of service...LOL. My nephews are huge MSU fans, as a gift they received MSU tshirts, etc. When they opened them I said, "How did this happen??? How could my flesh and blood be MSU fans????" Oye, that was painful. I took tons of crap from them (still with the AppState shit, which of course is easy to shut them up, hello, you lost to the team that lost to AppState, whatever) I ended up making a sizable wager with my brother for the Michigan/Florida game, of which my mother was horrified. My other brother is a huge Michigan fan, he has signed jerseys in frames, etc. He has an entire room dedicated to Michigan Football. He hangs out 8 Michigan flags on every game day, he also is no fun to watch the game with when they are not playing well. I call him from the stadium at half time, if they are playing bad, he won't even answer the phone....LOL.

Joshua, go lay in a tanning bed for 20 minutes, it will do wonders for your attitude, of course it is likely to give you skin cancer! Choose your poison!

My cousin broke ranks and went to MSU a few years ago; funny thing is though, nobody ostracized her from the family for her decision. Us soulless bastards actually supported her decision ;)

I was even rooting for Moo U. in the hockey tourney last spring... but never again. Joshua was spot on -- we show some school spirit and pride and Moo U. backers respond with the tired "arrogant" cliche. I'm fed up with hearing that. How about growing a set Moo U. and quit trying to see if you measure up against Michigan?

I'll choose happiness over for several years over this dreary gray crap for 50 years, that's for sure.

I need to send you one of the T-shirts I have Katie. I actually had a bunch made up for the OSU game and then we lost, but the few I have for MSU are great.

Blue with Maize lettering, they say

Michigan State: Easier to beat than Appalachian State

It gets quite the reaction at the East Lansing BW3 when I peel the sweater off and that's underneath, but it shuts them up, I'll say that. And the bartenders love it. I only pull it out when necessary, I keep it hidden unless someone decides to be an ass. Like I said- nice guy until...

ain't no sunshine right now shweaty....30 degrees, dusk, slush and sleetBLECH

Last night there was a nice little fluff piece on ESPN about tOSU's players and their speed (or lack thereof)I don't know if you watched the Texas/ASU game last night but it really reminded me of our favorite Big Ten teams and our LEAD BOOTS when compared to some other Southern schools....Keep talkin'.Can't wait to see LSU give ya the old beat-down (right after our licken' of course...)

Unfortunately or fortunately as the case may be, I don't follow the NFL. I can't answer your question on the Ginnster. I can get Parcells on the phone for you if you really want to know.

I missed the UF/OSU game last year. Very sad story. The only clip I saw was the opening kick-off. The UF boys never did see TG, but Luke AFB picked him up on radar. They cancelled the scramble once they realized it was Teddy.

Dang, the sun is just blasting in here. I really need to get some curtains.

Whets you crazy bastard, here you go. Just don't get pissed when I have more money than God and rent out every bar on High St. during Mich-Ohio State weekend. If you're lucky I'll give you a place of honor, as the only Buckeye allowed in the bar.

I think somebody has to eventually pay the $4-million--or there would (eventually) be NCAA sanctions. (Waiting for the NCAA to collect would probably be, "slow boat to China," however.)

An analogous ("breach of contract") situation will be when Mike Vick gets out of his correctional facility--he will owe the Falcons approx. $24-million (it's my understanding.) The NFL will make him pay before they let him play for the Ravens, Rams, Luftwaffe, or Khmer Rouge. (Just a joke on those last two "teams"...I would hate to put them in the same nefarious category as the Ravens and Rams.)

Vick--due to big legal bills, etc.--probably won't be able to pay. Hence, he will have to make the money back in a relatively lucrative Arena Football team (which is not a farm team for an NFL team), and then work his way back up. (With very few endorsements, because few people want to wear the same shoes as a felon--unless the felon can RAP.)

(The NFL might REALLY sandbag him and hint they will let him back; he pays Falcons/Blank; and THEN they hit him with "gambling allegations" or something.)

Back to Rodriquez--he probably negotiated in his contract with U. of Michigan that U. of Michigan has to pay it (the $4-mil.) Or they offered to pay it--while the two were still "playing footsie."

When it's $4-million, however, usually the obligated party will drag their feet as long as they ethically can--because even in a 6 mo. T-bill the interest on $4-million is not negligible.

In short, it's lucky that Michigan has such a booming economy and none of the citizens are suffering at all financially--so they are able to pay these types of contract breaches without blinking.

The longer it drags out, the worse it looks for UofM and R2. Pay the damn thing already. You make a deal, sign a contract and just because your first love turned nasty on you, doesn't mean that you don't follow through on your promise (even if there was a loop hole). Pay it. Done. (no tequila on that one) :o)

Ooh Tequila. Not sure if that's a good "ooh" or bad, because right now I'm contemplating either a)never drinking again or b)beginning drinking again in 5 minutes to help cure my hangover. Man I sound like a lush. Ah well, if the shoe fits...then put it on and walk your damn ass to the bar so you don't get a DUI. (At least I'm a lush with sense.)

Interesting Vick/AFL theory. as for R2, just pay the damn thing. Whoever, whatever, taxes or no, just do it, it's starting to look bad PR wise and it's a distraction not needed when one is becoming our new Head Ninja In Charge. (From heretofore being referred to as the HNIC). Just get it over with, any interest now is reaching a point of diminishing returns from anything other than a finance standpoint.

Katie, assuming they CAN read could be dangerous, especially if you're referring to some of the Staties I saw last night. Wow. Nor even gonna start with the stories.

And I'll get back to you and Whets on the emails when I'm a little more motivated, so no- I'm not ignoring either of you, just feeling a bit like a jelly bean today- my brain is mush.

The hair of the dog that bit you, or something like that. I typically drink one or two drinks a month, and the last 6 weeks I have tapped that a bit more than my normal. I only have one shot of tequila left though and I won't be buying more, I have been on this downward spiral just a bit too long, I have pulled up my boot straps and am marching on....and tequila will not help me in that endeavor!

Lol, not tequila or jager shots or anything, but several hours of football watching will get you every time. Especially when you don't have ESPN and have to go out to watch, and you're single and don't have other responsibilities. Makes it tough on my morning workouts though, that's for sure.

To put things in perspective (skewed though it may be), the place I bartended at in St. Thomas sold between 2000 and 2500 shots of Jager in an average week. That's not counting weeks like Superbowl week or St. Patty's Day. That's 80-100 bottles. Now there were some people behind the 8 ball.

I heard that Joshua, just a few hours after they were reporting that Jimbo had a second interview with them. I don't know who the bozo is announcing the UCF game, but they were asking him about it (apparently he is a UCLA grad) he said it was the best hire of all in the off season. (seriously? Talk about a homer!) This guy had major issues with following the NCAA rules and was fired for said issues.

Yeah there'll be all of 3 people watching the PSU game. Simulcast on NBC, CBS, and the NFL network? Are you kidding? This is gonna be sweet.I predict Brady actually turns Gatorade into wine on the sideline after they win.

Wing!!!! Where have you been? Good to see you. I am not a fan of pro ball, but my boys only watch pro so I keep track of the Packers and where ever Randy Moss goes, of course, Brady is on my list to watch as well, so Randy moving to the Patriots helped me limit my attention to two teams this year! My father is a huge Lions fan, but that doesn't take much watching! HA! I will be mostly on the Penn State Game though, so much more passion in CFB!

The beautiful thing about cable/satellite... Married with Children is still frequently shown!

About the UCLA hire... the talking heads @ ESPN were asked their opinions on it. Of course Mark May responded and then threw it off to Lou Holtz... Freaking Lou Holtz is commenting on the morals of another coach???? That's like having Ted Kennedy on the Ethics Committee... umm, wait, never mind!

Bryant Gumbel is making it easy for me to chose between PSU and NE v. Giants. Good gawd, I'll take Madden's blathering anyway over listening to Bryant Gumbel!

Well, the lawsuit is basically a publicity stunt for the pols & wvu admin to gain a little cover. When $$$ donors start pissning on the school for losing R2, creating a distraction is a good move. Otherwise, the lawsuit is stupid.

Suing prior to a breach by R2 does nothing for them other than make headlines.if anything, it drags things out. R2 now has no reason to pay & a good excuse not to pay anything until the lawsuit is finalized. If WVU wanted their money, this was the worst way to get it. If they wanted to put on a "show" & demonstrate they are "doing" something, it wasn't half bad.

Sorry Katie... I'm all for the B10 and everything but I was totally rooting for BC!!!

I had to step out and go to a surprise B-day party. And since I'm 2 hours behind you all, that's why I disappeared.

Nevertheless, the next term starts soon and I'll be anchored to my keyboard -- never to leave you again! Well at least for four more months... he he he :)

I thought State Penn would have put up more of a fight. Hopefully, Wisky, U of M, and tOSU will stick up for the rest of the conference.

BTW, a female friend of mine thinks Todd Collins (which was nice to hear his name mentioned because I always thought he was better than Grbac) is hotter than Brady -- what is your take (since I'm not really in the business of comparing guys' looks)?

93, I had not thought about Todd Collins in a bit, isn't he with the redskins now? I always thought he was a hottie, I think that Brady is just in the press so much, so he gets the attention. Grbac wasn't a hottie, but I loved watching him play.

As to the buyout, I do think it is cheap of us to not just pay it (or to have paid Bellien's(sp?))

I did root for the Eagles, even though you were absent, although I did get sick of hearing ESPN sucking up to Matt Ryan which caused me to have moments of rooting for MSU.

AND...SiC! I was thinking your OSU wife had put a block on your computer so that you couldn't visit here anymore....LOL. Good to see you

Shrek???!!! I am having a difficult enough time not missing anything with flipping between two channels......Shrek would not win a spot ....LOL. DVR it and promise to make them chocolate chip cookies, that always worked for me...hee hee.

Hasn't PSU been trying to run the spread the last few years, not successfully, but, at least trying to bring it in.

State Penn is coming back. Speaking of the TV coverage, I've noticed several plugs on behalf of the NFL network to visit what is essentially their anti-comcast website. Perhaps the powers that be at the NFL network weren't so miffed after all at having their feed on network TV; they're able to leverage it as a vehicle to a captive audience about the evils of big cable.

And speaking of cable versus networks, how come there isn't more outrage directed at ESPN? ESPN is the single most expensive channel at almost 300% more than the second most expensive channel.

Because people are willing to pay for it. My boys have a football package on their dish service. So awesome. If Comcast would carry the Big Ten, I would pay for it. I would bitch mightly, but I would pay.

Btw, Pryor announces Jan. 5th at the Army All American game, just in case you guys didn't know. Should be interesting.

I took a look over at SI, but didn't get past the 25 hottest sports wives of all time. Elsa Benitez and Angie Harmon got robbed. Although I'd have to dock Else points for marrying Rony Seikely- he was not a good looking dude.

8 hours later- i come home and realize I never submitted this post. YEA!!! Where's the beer?

Greetings again from sunny (not) South Carolina. I've a San Deigo story for y'all. My wife and I went to SD for Christmas to spend time with my Navy Daughter and son inlaw. Daughter is a Moo U fan while the rest of us are U-M. We're wandering around in the gaslight district and decide to get a bite at a place called Nicky Rottens.There was a man checking ID's at the street. He sees the Michigan DL's and asks if there are any Sparten fans, and daughter says yes. He then asks if there are any Wolverine fans, and we three say yes. He then points to a chair out on the sidewalk and says to daughter, "You sit here, and the rest of you follow me inside!"

Here's the contingency--IF Rodriquez "early quits" on Michigan, under the 13th Amendment, you can't MAKE him stay. Who would be holding the $4-mil. bag? I don't know the answer to that; I am just saying it is an interesting contingency.

I would guess there is a "stairstep"-type clause in Rodriguez' contract with Michigan--e.g., "He stays 6-months, we pay 50% of it. He stays 12-months, we pay 75%. Etc."

Here's the contingency--IF Rodriquez "early quits" on Michigan, under the 13th Amendment, you can't MAKE him stay. Who would be holding the $4-mil. bag? I don't know the answer to that; I am just saying it is an interesting contingency.

I would guess there is a "stairstep"-type clause in Rodriguez' contract with Michigan--e.g., "He stays 6-months, we pay 50% of it. He stays 12-months, we pay 75%. Etc."

Zen, I think you have a great point. I don't know tax law, but that seems to be such a stretch to me to count it as income, it seems far more plausible that it is an "expense". Seriously though, if a school comes knocking on your door and says, "hey, we love your work, come work for us" and said person is under a contract and has a buy out clause, does it NOT make sense that said school would PAY that buy out clause in order to have you come. Or are we really that "elite" that we think people would pay $4 million to come coach here. (not to say that we are not a program that is a killer job to have, but that seems to me a fairly arrogant stance to take.)

Of course, we do not know the workings of this deal, so it is all speculation, I sincerely hope that our program has enough common sense to just pay it and move on. WVU of course is ridiculous to file a suit even before it was due, but that is an entirely different story, along with their amazing hatred towards R2.

A verbal commitment is different than a signed letter of intent. He can announce, and still change his mind.(although not likely) At least he is not doing it at the football hall of fame, escorted by a hummer limo.

Pride comes before the fall. Which is my issue in reverse. I have a difficult time blowing my own horn, but that is a different issue altogether. I taught that to my children as well, but thankfully they have a father who taught them how to, so they are pretty balanced.

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